


A family forged through change

by ShadowsintheClouds



Series: Short Marvel Fics and gifts [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Endgame Fix-It, F/M, Family, Fluff, Happy Ending, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), SO MUCH FLUFF, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Lives, do not copy to another site, ironfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18905593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsintheClouds/pseuds/ShadowsintheClouds
Summary: Post Endgame fix-it. CONTAINS SPOILERS!After saving the universe and miraculously surviving, Tony Stark finally gets to retire with his wife, daughter, a rambunctious teenager, and a moody cyborg. But hey, conventional family is overrated.





	A family forged through change

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello, friends. I’ve written another post Endgame one-shot. Would you look at that? This one is all fluff. I like fluff. Especially because right now I still cry sometimes over Tony’s death in that movie. I’m not taking it well so I’m fixing it with fan fiction. The best way to fix things. On a side note, I took some liberties with Nebula’s age. We don’t really know it so I’m having a little fun. So, get ready for some Stark sibling fluff and enjoy!  

Nobody was quite sure how Tony managed to survive the full force of using all six Infinity Stones. It could have been a one in a million cosmic fluke, or just the stones saying thank you for getting rid of Thanos. Either way, Tony managed to survive. Sure, he ended up losing his right arm, as well as gaining some nice scaring on his face and some breathing problems. (He had to carry an inhaler now) But Tony was alive and that was all his family cared about.

Tony had stayed in the hospital in Wakanda for a month after the final battle against Thanos. Rhodey and Cap had been the ones to tell the media exactly what went down with Thanos. They told the world of Natasha’s sacrifice, of Bruce bringing all the dusted people back, and of Tony using all the stones to vanquish Thanos and his army for good. There were memorials all across the world for the fallen and both Bruce and Tony were being heralded as heroes. There was talk of presenting the two of them with some sort of award once Tony was well enough. Tony tried to argue that it was a team effort but nobody would hear it. The whole universe would have been dead if it wasn’t for Tony’s quick thinking.

Tony didn’t really care though. His family was safe and that was all he cared about. May let Peter skip out on school so that he could stay in Wakanda with Tony and the others. Tony still smiled at the memory of him waking up to see Peter and Morgan listening closely as Nebula taught them how to play paper football.    

Speaking of Nebula, Tony had all but adopted her in the time they had spent together. While they drifted in dead space together, Tony very quickly learnt that Thanos was a very shitty parent. Even shittier than Howard. It was clear that Nebula, despite only being 22 in human years at the time, was in need of a decent parental figure. So Tony did what he did with any and all science children he came across. He “adopted” her as his own.

Once he was on the mend after they returned to Earth, Tony was quick to bring Nebula into the fold of his little family. She was there alongside Rhodey, Happy, and Wong at Tony and Pepper’s wedding. She was there when Morgan was born. She was family.

Morgan grew up calling Nebula her big sister. Nobody bothered to correct her. And, because Peter was like a son to him, Nebula gained a little brother when he returned from dust.  Tony was happy. He was alive and he had his family.

Now that the world was slowly getting back to normal, Tony once and for all retired from being Iron Man. Nobody argued with him. He’d done enough for the universe it was time to rest. Once Tony returned back to his house by the river he took every opportunity he could to spend time with his kids. Nebula had elected to stay behind on Earth when the remaining Guardians and Thor had taken off. She wanted to learn things other than survival and anger. Tony was more than happy to have her stay. Peter was also off school for a while and would pick up where he left off in the fall along with all his friends who had also been dusted.

Now that it was summer, Tony took the opportunity to travel around a bit with the kids. He introduced Nebula to sports. She took quite the liking to football and rugby. She found the violence amusing. Peter would bring his friends Ned and MJ down to the house on weekends where they would do science with Tony. Morgan continued to grow like a weed and it became very apparent that she had inherited Tony’s intelligence after she had built a little bottle rocket car with some help from Peter. Morgan wasn’t allowed to touch hot or sharp things.  

Pepper had things under control with SI. They had created more jobs in their clean energy and agriculture departments in the wake of the undusting to help with the problems that came along with the sudden gain in population. SI was thriving and people were slowly returning to normal. Tony was so proud of her. Pepper was true to good for him sometimes.

There was one day where Rhodey had asked Tony if he was ever going to build a new arm to replace the one he’d lost. Tony had thought about it, especially after he had a talk with Barnes about what it was like. But in the end, Tony decided not to. It was a physical reminder that he’d lived. That everyone was back. He could still work in his lab in the garage. Plus it gave DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers an excuse to help out and not make smoothies filled with motor oil. Rhodey understood his choice. They were as good as brothers after all.

Happy had started to date Peter’s Aunt May. The reason Tony found out was because the teen came home one day with a pale face and shock in his eyes. Apparently, he’d walked in on them kissing. Tony teased him about it for a week.

There was one day where Tony caught Nebula whispering something to Morgan, Peter, and Peter’s friends. All Tony could do was smile as he saw all of them getting along. Although, the sight should have concerned him because later that day he found all of his shoes filled with glitter and a flower crown glued to his head. Still, it was worth it to see everyone laughing. Even Nebula.

Most night’s Tony would lay in bed and think while Pepper slept beside him. It was just like after New York in 2012. He had nightmares about the battle he’d fought in and couldn’t sleep. With the world still recovering, therapists were in short supply so Tony had to make do with taking things out with his former teammates. He’d talk with Cap sometimes when he was around. He was old now but was more than happy to listen to Tony when he was feeling upset over the events that had transpired. Bruce helped too. They had both used the stones. They knew what it was like.

But still, it was quiet nights that got Tony thinking. In the 15 years since Tony had been kidnapped in that cave in so much had changed. Tony had never expected his life to turn out the way it had. He never expected to fight aliens. To meet Captain America and form the Avengers. He never would have thought about fighting fire people or even fighting his own team. He’d never even dreamed that he would have wound up in space fighting a Titan. He never believed that he would be the one to crack the code of time travel. It was almost too much to take in sometimes.

But that’s life. It’s a crazy thing. What should have been a normal weapons demonstration had changed his life. The once playboy who thought that he’d never have a family of his own now had one that he loved 3000. Tony Stark was a hero, but he was a hero with regrets. He wished things had gone better. He wished Cap had never lied and caused the fight. He wished that Ultron had never happened. He wished that he could have saved Peter back in Titan. But that was all in the past. Tony was a futurist, he had to look forward and cherish what he had created for himself. In the end, he’d done exactly what Yinsen had wanted him to. He hadn’t wasted his life. Tony Stark had lived, and everything was going to be okay.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello again. I hope you all liked the fic. I got this little plot bunny and I just had to write it. I think we all need some more fluffy stories in the wake of Endgame. In our hearts, Tony Stark will live on. Always and forever. So, with that, Don’t forget to leave comments and kudos. Thank you so much for reading! -Shadows.
> 
>  


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